Roller skates have provided recreation and sport for many years, and as the popularity of skating has increased, so has the need for improvements in the skates. This is particularly true of indoor exhibition and dance performances utilizing specially designed skates which are integrally attached to the shoe. The truly versatile skate must be capable of responding to the performer's actions, whether in dance, figure, free style, free dance, or artistic skating. These skates are designed with wheel support structures which provide a wide range of flexibility, while at the same time retaining desired support and smoothness of operation. In order to achieve these ends, it is desirable to provide a simple, efficient means for controlling the flexibility of operation of the wheels of the skate with respect to the shoe, and hence the foot, of the skater.